Visual Communication Systems
Improve visual management in manufacturing to improve your team’s efficiency and communication
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What is Visual Communication?
Visual management in manufacturing and logistics is achieved through a set of displayed indicators, means and procedures, strategically located in production areas so that they are as visible as possible, and so that updates can be provided daily.
The core of Lean Visual Management is communication. With visual management, workers can obtain key information about their workplace ‘at a glance’ using instinctive visual cues. The aim of good visual management is to achieve rapid speed in identifying the performance of an assembly or production area, without the need for communication with words. The displayed visual indicators bring information that can identify and detect abnormalities, problems, deviations from a given production target.
Visual communication can come in the form of signage, colour coding, visual project boards, clear floor markings, and container labeling. Manufacturing visual management goes hand in hand with the 5S technique.
To learn more about the benefits of visual communication, as well as some practical examples, read one of our recent blogs.
Explore Visual Management Products From Orgatex UK
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Lean Cube
Customisable Lean Cube, allowing versatile display of information. Can be used with our accessories
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Wall Mounted Visual Board - 1000mm
Customisable and features a magnetic and writeable surface. Can be used with our accessories
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Floor Standing Visual Board - 1000mm
Customisable and features a magnetic and writeable surface. Can be used with our accessories
Why Should You Implement Visual Communication Systems?
Visual communication is a fantastic tool to help you support and sustain your lean management processes. Visual management comes with a myriad of benefits to business, particularly those working in a warehouse or in manufacturing. We’ve outlined the biggest benefits below:
- Improved output and efficiency for your team, as there is no need to ask about where things go or how to do things
- Providing your visual management systems are in accordance with HSE standards, safety should be improved within the space
- All of your team members will follow the same processes, making production more consistent, and also making it easy to spot defects
- Improved engagement among team members as a culture of communication and suggestions for improvement is encouraged
How Do You Implement Manufacturing Visual Management?
Implementing visual management systems properly will be the key to ensuring efficiency is actually achieved and your whole organisation is on board. Below, we’ve outlined the steps you can take to achieve lean manufacturing and make large improvements to your business:
Identify Areas For Improvement
Any good project manager starts by identifying their aims and objectives. Do you want to reduce wasted time? Encourage collaboration between teams? Make your processes more efficient? To ensure your visual management tools work well, you need to think about the specific areas where implementing visual management, such as Kanban boards, could help achieve your objectives. Avoid over complicating the process by focusing on one area of improvement at a time. Think about the ergonomics of your workplace and how your teams work before moving onto the next step.
Buy Visual Communication Products
Depending on what you’d like to improve, you may need a range of products for your warehouse. We stock a number of manufacturing visual products here at Orgatex. Everything from high-quality project tracking boards, to container labels, and visual floor markings are available to buy on our website. You need a range of safety signs and symbols for effective visual communication. Read the blog linked to learn more.
Choose Display Points Carefully
If you choose to display your visual management systems in the wrong area, not only would your displays go unnoticed, but it will also be a waste of money. Strategically placing your visual signs or container labels where footfall is high, or where key production steps take place will ensure they are regularly seen by your team so they can access essential information at a glance.
Train Your Team
Host a quick meeting with your team or key department leaders to ensure the processes roll out effectively and everyone is on the same page. Encourage your team members to speak up if they spot areas and processes that could be improved with visual management, and to let you know if something isn’t working well. Analyse how well your teams work over the next few weeks and adjust the processes if necessary.
Visual Communication Products From Orgatex
There are many useful tools used in visual management: Labels, markings, varied colour identification, visual boards, floor signs etc. At ORGATEX, we are the market leader in this field, and we are able to offer many visual communication tools that cover the entire needs of a company in this area.
We offer a comprehensive range of information boards and columns suited to use in an industrial environment through using high quality and durable materials. Increased flexibility of a magnetic and writable display are assets for optimal viewing of vital information, which can be bought from our website.
Each business is unique, and we can help install a custom visual display system that achieves its goal of successfully converting your operations key information into visual indicators. If you’re after a bespoke solution for your business, please get in touch with a member of our team who will be happy to help.
Explore Quality Visual Communication Systems
If you have any questions about visual management and how it works, read our frequently asked questions below. If the question you have isn’t answered, please feel free to contact a member of our team, who will be happy to advise.
Manufacturing Visual Management FAQs
What Are Visual Aids in Communication?
Visual aids are extremely versatile in communication, and they could come in the form of posters, colour coding, labels, and project management boards, to name a few. Essentially, they are anything that helps to communicate a message or information without the need for asking another person.
What Are Examples of Visual Communication Systems?
Visual communications come in many different forms, and providing an exhaustive list would be nearly impossible. Visual communication will also vary between businesses in different industries. Examples for manufacturing or a warehouse may include:
- Using coloured floor marking tape to outline different areas of a warehouse that offer different purposes
- Using cards and Kanban boards to create an overview of a project’s progress
- Labeling containers so everyone can see what they contain without looking in them
- Installing whiteboards that can be used to write updates for the whole team to see, without the need for a meeting or conversations
What is Visual Management in Lean?
Visual management is used in lean manufacturing to provide easy-to-understand visual overviews to improve efficiency within the warehouse and eliminate the need for time consuming conversations. Staff should be able to view processes and vital data ‘at a glance’.
Where Is Visual Communication Used?
Visual communication is a great tool to implement, especially if you are wishing to sustain your lean management process. It can be implemented in a series of places such as through signage to signal locations, visual boards on the work floor to remind workers of correct procedures and aims and container labelling to organise products. At Orgatex we offer a range of great products to help you implement visual communication with ease.
Why Is Visual Management Important?
Visual management is essential for creating efficient working environments and clearly and effectively communicating important information to employees within the organisation. There are a plethora of reasons why visual management is so important. For example, it improves the efficiency of production as all team members will be following the same processes. This makes production more consistent, and in turn this will reduce waste.
What Elements Contribute To Good Visual Management In the Workplace?
The best element to improving visual management in the workplace is to have clear visual cues which are visible at a glance to employees. These visual cues could be operating procedures, health and safety standards or even performance metrics. These help to create several streamlined improvements in areas such as waste management, efficient production processes, and creating healthy workplace conversations about potential improvements.